Under the company name,
S.O.S. from Texas (Save Our
Soils), Gary Oldham grows organic cotton in the eastern Panhandle,
near Samnorwood, Texas, then has it ginned, spun, woven, and assembled
as t-shirts. He sells the t-shirts wholesale and retail, either as
plain shirts or as ones with custom decoration. With this integrated,
value-added business and organic product, Mr. Oldham provides a model
for sustainable agriculture, but continues to struggle with the
vagaries of drought and low prices that his great-grandfather lamented
in the poems he wrote in the 19th century.

Interviewed

October 9, 2002
Samnorwood, Texas
Reels 2228 and 2229

Please see two brief Real Media video
excerpts from our interview with Mr. Oldham, one where he recites a
poem his grandfather wrote about the struggles of cotton farming,
and a second about his own
efforts to find a niche in organic cotton and textiles.